issue 1617 | april 25 , 2016 the weekly digital magazine ...€¦ · the weekly digital magazine...
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ISSUE 1617 | April 25 , 2016
The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Active Lifestyle Market
Editorial DirectorDavid Clucas
Senior Business EditorThomas J. Ryan
Associate Editor | Sports & Fitness EditorJahla Seppanen
[email protected] 303.578.7008
Contributing EditorCharlie Lunan
Creative DirectorTeresa Hartford
Art DirectorChris Loving-Campos
Media SalesBuz Keenan
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The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Active Lifestyle Market
ISSUE 1617 | April 25, 2016
MARKET REPORT
4By The Numbers
6Trew Bunkhouse Disneyland For the Outdoor Junkie
7Movers & Shakers
8Scoping New Products at the Boston Marathon Expo
21Industry Calendar
ONE-ON-ONE
10Shanti Hodges, Founder,Hike it Baby
GIVING BACK
12Big City Mountaineers Building Life Skills For Kids Through The Outdoors
ACTIVE LIFESTYLE | OUTDOOR KIDS GEAR
14Wild ChildMore parents are heading outdoors with their kids and investing in high quality kids gear.
FAST FIVE
20 Gear Built Just For Kids
4 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 25, 2016
MARKET REPORT
BY THE NUMBERS
$1 MillionInvestment by the REI Foundation in the 21 Century Conservation Service Corps to help fund the work of young people — including underserved high school and college students, inner-city youth and multicultur-al groups — in nearby parks.
2 Hours, 12 Minutes and 45 SecondsThe winning time for 2016 Boston Marathon Men’s Champion Lemi Berhanu Hayle, who sported Adidas shoes during the race. Atsede Baysa won the women’s race at 2 hours, 29 minutes and 18 seconds wearing Nike shoes.
4 PercentDecline in TomTom’s consumer sales to €116.6 million for the first quarter 2016 despite stronger sales of its sports GPS tracking products.
17 PercentOf teenage girls’ spending this spring went toward fashion athletic brands, according to Piper Jaffray’s 31st semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens report. Nike remained the most popular athletic fashion brand in both apparel and footwear despite mixed results among men. Adidas was a positive standout in the ath-letic footwear and clothing category.
47 StoresClosing as part of Sport Chalet going out of business by early May. Its parent company Vestis Retail Group will try to sell or reorganize its other two retailers — Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) and Bob’s stores — through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
157th LocationFor Modell’s Sporting Goods, opening its third store-front in 2016 in New Jersey at 2839 Kennedy Blvd. in Jersey City.
400 JobsBeing eliminated by Nordstrom Inc. by the end of the second quarter to reduce costs by approximately $60 million in fiscal 2016. The cuts will come primarily within its corporate center and regional support teams.
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DISNEYLAND FOR THE OUTDOOR JUNKIETrew offers brand experience through lodging.
By Jahla Seppanen
Splash Mountain is well and fun, but active lifestyle consumers will more often than not chose a hike and microbrew over Disneyland.
And as today’s apparel, footwear and gear brands look to infiltrate deeper in to consumers’ lifestyles, we’re seeing creative marketing campaigns that lend experiences along with product.
Take outdoor and winter sports apparel brand Trew, which this past week announced branded lodging accommodations in its home town of Hood River, OR. That’s right, an outdoor brand go-ing into the boutique basecamp business.
The Trew Bunkhouse*, which opens on a trail basis May 20, 2016, is the brand’s way of
prompting an experience where seasoned outdoor enthusiasts and newbies alike can have a cu-rated Trew weekend in Hood. The six-bedroom, three-bath house, which can be reserved on Airbnb in whole or in part ($225 to $750 per night) comes equipped with gear for adventure-seeking visi-tors to get outdoors, hit the trails, paddleboard and kite-surf. The brand will also let guests try out its latest apparel … return your rain jacket with your key, please, and like any good concierge, the brand has curated dining, drink and entertainment recommen-dations for local establishments including where to find the tasti-est tacos, strongest cold brew and best beginner bike loop.
The concept of a branded accom-modation and entertainment expe-rience isn’t new. Disneyland is one big brand infusion, and even down the road in Portland, OR, local brewery McMenamins is famous for its hotel/bars, located in venues from an old neighborhood elemen-tary school to a working farm.
The idea is to provide a com-plete branded lifestyle when con-sumers are at their happiest — on vacation. For Trew, it’s about de-livering what it’s like to live and breathe the active lifestyle.
John Pew, one of the three Trew founders, used to have a house close to the river where the brand would host its friends who stopped into town en-route to their next adventure. If you’re an
outdoorist, odds are you can en-vision a similar stay of your own. Trew’s initial visitors were com-rades of the mountain who would buy from the brand’s first store – an RV the gang took to ski areas before they had hangers and tags to call their own.
“It’s an ode,” said Erin Broster-hous, marketing rep for Trew. “A way for them to tip their hat to their heritage.” It’s smart market-ing, too. Airbnb, where the Bunk-house rooms are available, has 60 million users with 500,000 booking a room per night. Tack these favorable numbers to the trend of more people making last-minute weekend vacations to trendy small towns, and Trew may have hit marketing gold.
Photos courtesy Trew
APRIL 25, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 7
Although the first weekend at the Bunkhouse is the only one of-ficial on schedule for the brand, the goal is to have more dates in the future.
What SGB discovered in our exploration of this outdoor animal house was that its opening aligns with another big brand announce-ment. Known as a winter brand, Trew is in the process of launch-ing a year-round product cycle in Spring 2016 that will have both a Summer and a Fall line to follow.
Coincidence? No way. The Bunkhouse reveals itself as a smart marketing strat-egy that gets the ethos of Trew to new and established consumers, while introducing three new sea-sons to the fold. We appreciate the
MOVERS & SHAKERS
All3sports, the Atlanta, GA-based triathlon retailer, transferred ownership from former President Morgan Clark Schnur to athlete and entrepreneur Matt Cole.
Blink Fitness, a gym franchise in New York and New Jersey, appointed Dos Condon, formerly at Equinox, to the newly created role of VP of Franchise Opera-tions.
CycleBar Studios in Bergen County, NJ, tapped cel-ebrated indoor cycling instructor Lisa Liren to join its instructor roster.
Easton Baseball/Softball secured a new partnership with Jen Schroeder, former UCLA Bruins fastpitch softball star who is now one of the world's top softball catching instructors.
Epoch Lacrosse hired former University of Wisconsin lacrosse player Carrie Moeger as a Junior Graphic Designer.
Eyeking, maker of performance sunglasses that owns licenses for Under Armour Eyewear and Hobie Polar-ized, named Scott Betty as SVP of Product and Design.
Gap Inc. selected Sonia Syngal as Old Navy’s new Global President to lead the brand’s continued reinvention of the value space with quality, accessible fashion.
GoPro named Daniel “Danny” Coster, formerly at Apple, as its VP of Design, effective the end of April 2016.
Hydro Flask appointed David Ledouble, who spent 11 years as Black Diamond's Director of Sales in Switzerland, to spearhead its launch in Europe.
Jordan Brand is launching an apparel line for Kawhi Leonard, star of the San Antonio Spurs, featuring the player's "Klaw" logo. The brand also expanded its ros-ter of athletes, signing Gennady Golovkin, the Unified WBA, IBF, IBO and WBC Middleweight Champion of the World.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. appointed Jon McNeill, President of Global Sales, Delivery and Service for Tesla Motors, Inc., to the company’s board of directors.
Mission Athletecare added World Cup Champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Carli Lloyd and Men's World Cup Winner (Spain) and NYCFC Captain, David Villa as Mission Athlete Partners.
transparency. Brosterhous told SGB flat out, “It’s a way for Trew to connect with their customer in an intimate and branded way, share their lifestyle and tell their story.”
“A lot of millennial shoppers want to know their brands in a more intimate way,” she added. Trew, “of course, hopes it translates into sales, but right now there isn’t a direct line. They saw it as, it’s a cool place to stay, and you get to try out all the gear you want.”
In the outdoor world, free gear and taco recommendations are worth more than a photo with Mickey and Pluto.
*For more information on Trew Bunkhouse and to experience the beautiful Hood River, log on to trew-gear.com/trew/trew-updates.
8 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 25, 2016
SCOPING OUT NEW PRODUCTS AT THE BOSTON MARATHON EXPO
By Thomas J. Ryan
The Boston Marathon is more than just a race. It’s an annual gathering for the running industry and numerous brands debut new products at the expo. SGB was onsite to check out the new gear around visibility and recovery, as well as opti-mizing running mechanics and footwear. Here are some highlights.
Shoecue is an insole that encourages a mid- or forefoot strike to promote a natural running stride. The core technology is a textured heel plate with patented bumps that restore essen-tial sensory feedback to the feet that have been diminished through years of cushioned insoles. The heel plate prompts the runner to load their heel less and to run on the ball of their foot more to improve mechanics and positioning. The insole also features guided size ranges for a customized fit. An EVA foam body and a thick thermoplastic impact plate in the heel offers re-sponsiveness and durability.
Reflect Your Gear is a reflective option offered by Safe Reflections, which provides much of the reflective technology used by Asics, Nike, Pa-tagonia and many other major athletic apparel providers. The company converts 3M Scotchlite reflective material into textile applications for
activewear use. Reflect Your Gear is a small patch — akin to and working like a Band-Aid — run-ners, cyclists or any other outdoor enthusiast can attach to their clothes. The patches can be ironed on, and there's an adhesive option. The item has an eco-friendly message since it was inspired because Safe Reflections didn't know what to do with the extra material leftover after working on lines with its brand partners. While Reflect Your Gear is Safe Reflections' first consumer product, Chuck Gruber, CEO of Safe Reflections, said the company's partners are enthusiastic about the launch because it gets the message out about the importance of being seen at night.
MBT, known for its dress and casual shoes with a patented rocker sole, in March introduced its first line of running shoes. The soles on the clas-sic MBT are curved to cause imbalance, forcing the wearer to realign their balance. While offer-ing cushioning for maximal fans, the tri-density, rocker sole on MBT’s running line shifts shock absorption from heel to mid-foot to offer more relief than other maximal shoes. It provides max cushioning and protection with the Pivot Strike promoting a natural gait. MTB’s run-ning shoes are categorized into three categories: Lightweight for beginner runners, Performance
for avid runner, and Cushioning for recovering from long runs and marathons.
OS1st is a new brand from ING Source, the three-generation family company in Hickory, NC that also makes the OrthoSleeve brand of medical and performance products. The OS1st brand launched last fall with the FS06 Perfor-mance Foot Sleeve, was formerly the top-selling Feetures Plantar Fasciitis Sleeve. Often confused with being a sock, the FS06 Performance Foot Sleeve is a brace layer system that helps relieve symptoms of plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendini-tis, heel pain, foot swelling, and other discom-fort. ING Source had been licensing the bracing technology to Feetures but decided to take it in-house as part of a plan to broadly expand the range this year. OS1st now offers recovery com-pression sleeves for the calf, elbow, knees, legs, patellar tendon, wrist and thigh.
RooSport has been selling its runner pouches on its website since 2011 and at 120 to 150 mara-thon expos a year but has recently branched out to selling retail. The pouches, which hold iPods, cell phones, keys, energy gels, etc., offer mag-netic flaps that attach over a runner’s waistband anywhere they want it to. Along with a wide
Photos courtesy Boston Marathon
APRIL 25, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 9
variety of colors, the RooSport Plus comes with a larger design to handle plus-sized phones. The RooSport 2.0's offers a concealed zipper pocket.
Night Runner 270° Shoe Lights are water-resis-tant, lightweight, bright LEDs that clip onto the laces of running shoes for exercising at night. Once fitted, the 75-lumen LED beams provide up to 30 meters (100 feet) of visibility and 270-de-gree coverage. The lights — which are comprised of multiple white LEDs facing forward and a sin-gle red one facing backwards to make a runner visible from behind — are contained in a bilater-al winged housing which is both water-resistant and able to withstand high-impact activities. The batteries are recharged via a micro-USB port and last between four and eight hours, depending on the level of usage. The just-launched product was funded by a Kickstarter campaign last year and inspired after its Co-founder Renata Storer injured himself falling into a pothole while train-ing for the New York Marathon.
RunLites is a safety glove with a built-in flash-light and padded palm pocket that can be used to store ID cards, money, an iPod or other carry items. Ideal for nighttime or low-light activity, including running, walking, cycling or hunt-ing, the gloves are bright (set for 40 lumens or 80 lumens) and provide a 135-degree radial arc of light up to 15 feet ahead. A rechargeable bat-tery lasts up to 48-hours. The reflective strip and adjustable power options offer added safety.
Available in half length (fingers exposed) or full-length for cold weather.
Rad is best known for its Rad Roller which was launched last year and designed to replicate the firm but soft hands of a therapist to offer a step above the tennis ball or lacrosse ball some athletes use to loosen their muscles. Co-developed by bio-mechanics specialist Mike Mallory and accom-plished triathlete Dan McIntosh, the Rad Roller is compact and portable and precise enough
to target almost every muscle in the body. The patent-pending design has expanded to include three densities for the Rad Roller and Rad overall has expanded to a number of mobility products. These include the Rad Helix roller that unlocks stiffness on two planes and flushes out toxins to promote healthy, open posture; as well as the Rad Rod thin, a portable myofascial release tool.
ACU-Mobility launched its Eclipse Foam Roller with a Kickstarter campaign last fall. A com-bined foam roller and trigger point release tool, the Eclipse Roller features four zones of com-pression and five pressure strips to help users target multiple muscle groups at the same time to reduce rolling time. The shape enables users to target muscles and angles they could never reach with a traditional roller. ACU-Mobility also recently introduced the Acu-Mobility Ball, an all-in-one tool for mobility and stability exer-cises as well recovery enhancement.
SHFT, a Denmark-based digital running coach that launched last year in Europe, is now ex-panding into the United States. Through a sys-tem of intelligent pods placed on the foot and chest, SHFT measures and analyzes the wearer's running mechanics, including foot strike pat-terns, cadence and bounce. Live feedback and coaching are provided while running. SHFT said small adjustments to running mechanics can support a more economical style that will keep a runner’s legs fresher for longer.
10 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 25, 2016
ONE-ON-ONE
Shanti Hodges, Founder, Hike it BabyHow a social networking platform is helping parents and kids experience the outdoors.
By Courtney Holden
For one thing, she had a child, which as any parent knows, throws your world into a
tailspin. She also founded Hike it Baby, a social networking platform that revolves around help-ing parents and child caregivers get outside and on-trail with their 1- to 5-year-olds — and the organization has exploded. Started in the sum-mer of 2013, it’s already grown from a circle of five friends in Portland to include more than 88,000 members in more than 200 cities around the world.
SGB sat down with Hodges to discuss the origins of Hike it Baby and how it’s changing the way parents get outside with their little ones.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your family. Have the outdoors always played a big role in your life? I have always loved the outdoors, but since having a child, I have found a new ap-preciation for it because I am looking at nature through his eyes. I never used to look at flow-ers, grass and leaves through this lens because I was always so busy zipping by on a mountain bike or racing downhill on a snowboard. I was a journalist for a number of years in the outdoor adventure sports world, which was fun, but I feel like my connection to nature is much deeper now as a Hike it Baby parent.
You initially started hiking with your son when he was just two weeks old. What moti-vated you to get outdoors? It was summer and we were having a huge heat wave in Portland. I remember feeling suffocated inside even though
we had air conditioning. I just wanted to get out, feel fresh air and sit in the shade of a tree. My first “hike” was just a few blocks long on a trail right by my house, but I still remember how strong and calm it made me feel.
What prompted you to grow this idea into something beyond your friend group in Port-land? Total strangers started seeing my hikes on my Facebook page and writing to me from around the country. That's when I realized this was something other people wanted. I wasn't sure what it would look like or how I would make money, but I decided that shouldn't be the focus. The focus from day one has been on how to make it easier for families to get on trail with their newborns, regardless of whether they themselves were new to the trail or if they were experienced hikers.
Hike it Baby has exploded in the past three years. Why do you think that is? Parents are maxed out with technology, and there's a feel-ing that social media isn't a “real” connection to nature or each other. Hike it Baby is a commu-nity. We are a real group of people and no matter where you go, Hike it Baby is the same in ev-ery city. We start with a welcome circle and ask that people leave their personal politics at home, bringing only their true self to the trail. We focus on our children and ourselves, putting one foot in front of the other and just feeling the beauty around us. Nothing more. We don't do classes on trail or try to make it a learning experience.
We just ask that you be in the moment. Also, we are one of the few free groups that caters to fami-lies with birth to 5-year-old children. Most will start at age 3 when a child is potty-trained.
How do you think Hike it Baby is impacting the parents who participate? I get letters daily from men and women telling me how they bat-tled postpartum depression with Hike it Baby and how they have made some of their best friends on trail. I have had people tell me that they were moving to new cities and weren't wor-ried about a big move with their baby because they knew they had Hike it Baby in their new city. It's like an instant circle of friends no matter where you go.
What are some of the best comments (positive and negative) people have made on the trail after seeing a Hike it Baby group go by? We rarely get negative comments, although once a woman once said “If I wasn't out here, I would offer to babysit your little ones so you could be in the snow by yourselves. I hate seeing the kids suffer out here in the cold.” I was with a few oth-er Hike it Baby moms and we laughed because we were all having so much fun out on a rainy, snowy, gray Northwest day. It didn't even dawn on us that we would want our kids inside.
On the positive side, people often remark how quiet and well behaved our kids are — the kids are definitely calmer on trail. Also, older women always say “I wish I had this when I was a new mom! You are all wonderful.”
APRIL 25, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 11
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12 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 25, 2016
Big City Mountaineers Builds Life Skills Through The Outdoors
‘Kids need to have multi-day expeditions to affect change.’
By David Clucas
Think back to your earliest memo-ries outdoors — they’re likely the foundation that brought you to the industry, shaped your respect for the environment and delivered a happier, more active lifestyle.
Not every child and teenager gets those early outdoor opportunities. It’s especially tough for underserved and disadvantaged kids in the na-tion’s big cities. Sure, there might be a couple hours outside at the play-ground or on a basketball court, but there are few opportunities to fully immerse themselves in nature.
“Kids need to have multi-day expeditions to affect change,” said Big City Mountaineers Executive Director Bryan Martin. “It’s on that second or third night in the backcountry that you see some-thing change inside these kids. The turning point doesn’t happen in one day.”
Big City Mountaineers, based in Golden, CO, has been helping spur that outdoor inspiration for inner-city youth — leading more than 7,300 kids on 700 week-long wilderness expeditions with the help from 5,000 volunteers and millions in donations, mostly from the outdoor industry — for the past 25 years.
“That’s 36,000 nights under the stars for kids who wouldn’t have had the opportunity otherwise,” Martin said.
The non-profit’s mission is to build life skills for kids through the outdoors. Research shows that experiences in nature reduce stress, improve physical health, lead to better education outcomes and build civic mindedness, Martin said.
Reaching The Right KidsBig City Mountaineers (BCM) isn’t an open-enrollment camp. Well-to-do parents can’t drop off their kids for free activities. Rather, the non-profit works closely with youth agencies in six cities — Bos-ton, Minneapolis, Denver, Port-land, Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area — to identify teens age 13 to 18 who would most benefit from the expeditions.
“Because of this model, the kids we serve are 85 percent ra-cially diverse, 50 percent from a single-parent or foster home, and nearly 90 percent on a reduced or free-lunch program,” Martin said. “These aren’t bad kids, they just lack opportunity.”
Through its donations, BCM outfits the kids head-to-toe (each goes home with a free pair of hik-ing boots), and covers logistics, transportation and meal costs. About 10 to15 expeditions are held outside its served cities every summer.
And BCM’s reach goes beyond just a week outdoors. Local agen-cies help prepare kids for the trip and then help carry forward what they’ve learned afterward. On ev-ery expedition, at least one person from the agencies attends.
Expanding OpportunitiesWhile BCM has proven itself over the past quarter century, it recently launched a three-year plan to ex-pand its services to reach more youth and play a larger role in its communities.
While it’s still providing multi-day expeditions, the group has be-gun serving 8 to 12-year-old kids
GIVING BACK
Photos courtesy Big City Mountaineers
APRIL 25, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 13
on 24-hour, overnight outdoor trips. It’s been doing so outside Denver for the past five years, and this summer will start in the Boundary Waters near Minne-apolis. The idea is to reach out to younger ages with these introduc-tory trips, then come back to some of the same kids for the multi-day expeditions.
On the other end of the age spec-trum — those above 18 years old — BCM works with its graduates to become future mentors through “alumni trips” that include a lead-ership component, Martin said. “Some of them will become staff for our overnight camps,” he said, and that could lead to further op-portunities.
“Our hope is that as we graduate our really exceptional leaders, that we’ll be able to work with industry brands and retailers to find intern-ships and jobs for them.”
How To HelpFor an industry that consistently identifies the importance of youth participation outdoors, BCM is a partner to seek with multiple ave-nues for brands and retailers to join the cause.
Volunteers are always needed and numerous brands, including Eddie Bauer, Cascade Designs and Smartwool, have donated their staff ’s time to help lead entire expe-ditions. There’s value for brands to connect with youth of these demo-graphics, Martin said. “The expedi-tions are not only powerful for the kids, but the volunteers, too.”
Donations are, of course, another big way to help. The nonprofit brings in about $1 million a year, but is looking to grow that amount by 20 to 25 percent over the next three years to fund its expanded initiatives.
BCM worked with the The North Face, for example, which donated
$1 for every back-to-school back-pack it sold ($75,000 total) to the group. Footbed brand Sole raised $200,000 for BCM over the past eight years, donating proceeds from its Ed Viesturs sole. And this past holiday season, Vail’s Any Mountain retailer asked custom-ers to “round-up” their purchases to the nearest dollar with the dif-ference going to BCM, totaling $20,000, with an additional $10,000 matched by Vail.
“I could see a lot of our specialty retailers doing the same,” Martin said. “We’re open to all kinds of ideas.” It isn’t easy work garnering the donations, Martin admitted.
“There are dozens and dozens of companies (like those above) where I don’t even need to explain. They say ‘how can we help?’ But others — maybe more so than in the past — that say ‘well, we have to examine the rate of return to our
business on this sponsorship.’ That’s a challenge for us. How can we shift that sentiment? There are plenty of benefits we deliver to our partners and the industry, but they’re not all going to be financial.”
The final main donation avenue for the nonprofit is open to any company or individual — BCM’s Summit For Someone program. Each year about 100 to 150 partici-pants raise about $3,000 each from friends, family and co-workers, to fund BCM. Their reward? A pro-fessionally guided climb up Amer-ica’s most iconic peaks, including Mount Rainier and the Grand Teton. Some companies have even developed retreats and corporate team building around the trips, Martin said.
Whether by volunteering or par-ticipating on a Summit For Some-one climb, BCM is helping adults, too, get re-connected outdoors.
14 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 25, 2016
ACTIVE LIFESTYLE | OUTDOOR KIDS GEAR
Wild ChildA push to get youth outside spurs investment in higher quality kids gear.
By Courtney Holden
APRIL 25, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 15
Talk to nearly anyone who earns their keep in the outdoor industry and they’ll wax
nostalgic about trips camping with their fam-ily, fishing with their fathers or playing hide-and-seek with their siblings out in the woods. Whether we call ourselves hikers, bikers, skiers or anglers, most of us cultivated our love for get-ting outside when we still measured our age by half-years and ran around with bruised knees and dirt under our fingernails.
Fast forward to 2016 and a new baby-boom generation is arriving — the children of mil-lennials, the grandchildren of the original baby boomers. But times have changed. Today screen time has become the equivalent of playtime, and kids face a constant siren song from Wiis, wid-gets and the World Wide Web.
“As the young spend less and less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically, and this reduces the richness of the human experience,” wrote Richard Louv in the award-winning book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children
from Nature Deficit Disorder. “Yet at the very moment that the bond is breaking between the young and the natural world, a growing body of research links our mental, physical and spiritual health directly to our association with nature —in positive ways.”
The news isn’t all bad. There’s a mounting push against this propensity for indoor play. And that bodes well for our industry because as more parents head outside with their kids, they’re investing in the apparel, footwear and gear necessary to do so.
According to SSI Data*, kids category sales at retail have turned in a mixed bag over the past few years. Kids outdoor footwear sales jumped 20 percent in 2014, but are down 16 percent for the trailing 52-weeks, through April 9, 2016. Kids outdoor apparel sales were flat in 2014, and up 2 percent for the trailing 52-weeks. And kids out-door hardgoods sales were up 5 percent in 2014, but down 15 percent for the trailing 52-weeks.
Kids category sales for outerwear, handwear, functional footwear, day packs, sleeping bags
and paddlesports have shown the most robust gains, while socks, swimwear, climbing gear and bikes have seen declines.
A New Push For Outdoor PlayThere’s a growing body of research that touts the benefits of getting kids away from the television, off their smart phones and out into the natural world. Among those benefits: better concentra-tion and self-discipline; advanced coordination, balance and agility; improved awareness, rea-soning and observational skills; and fewer sick days. With all the advantages to be had from spending time outside, it’s no wonder parents are beginning to prioritize outdoor play.
But with a kid in tow — not to mention the accompanying snacks, stroller and other neces-sities — these outdoor experiences are more mellow, standing in stark contrast to the suffer-fests much of the outdoor industry propaganda promotes (think half-frozen figures perched on a jagged peak or a sun-kissed hard-body ripping a giant wave). The new mantras sung by Louv,
Photo courtesy Osprey and photographer Dan Holz
16 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 25, 2016
Michelle Obama and the “Let’s Move! Outside” campaign encourage parents to simply get out of the house with their kids, whether that means catching lightning bugs in the backyard or tak-ing a stroll around the city park.
“The exploration of playing outside is ex-tremely important for life skills and develop-ment. It’s a basic way to learn how to explore and get dirty and fall down,” said Becky Marcel-liano, marketing coordinator for Deuter. “And it doesn’t have to be anything epic; it’s just about that outside playtime.”
Helen Olsson, author of The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids, points out another, often-overlooked advantage of head-ing into nature with kids: developing deeper relationships between generations. “With the usual noise of life drowned out, camping with kids affords you the luxury to just be with your children. To marvel at a wildflower or stop on a trail, close your eyes and listen to the wind in the trees,” she wrote.
The Changing Face Of ParenthoodThe majority of the rising tide of parents fit into the millennial generation— that often-derided group of roughly 15-35 year-olds better known for their self-absorption and social media prow-ess than any parental instinctiveness. “[Having kids] is quite a shock to a lot of millennials be-cause they’re accustomed to having significant freedom,” said Gregory Miller, president of the American Hiking Society (AHS), who’s done extensive research on the demographic. “Histori-cally, these people have done long hikes, big pad-dles and gone climbing. They can’t do that in the
APRIL 25, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 17
same way [with a kid], so they start looking for shorter, locally accessible trails … and repeatable outdoor recreational experiences. They do them with more frequency, but not for as long.”
And now there are national crusades and groups to help with trip planning. Miller’s own AHS presents the Families on Foot initiative, which encourages children, parents and families to take a hike and explore the outdoors. The “Ev-ery Kid in a Park” campaign gives fourth grad-ers and their families free admission to national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges and more. And Hike it Baby is a group-gather-ing platform that helps parents and caregivers plan hikes and walks.
In addition to time constraints, Millennial parents are also often restricted by cost. Many remain saddled with student debt and have run into childcare expenses that are higher than ex-pected. As a result, they’re looking for activities with a low-barrier to entry in terms of finan-cial investment. For these reasons, Miller said, camping and hiking in particular are two easy (and rewarding) ways to get outside with kids. Most cities have parks, trails and campgrounds within a reasonable distance; gear needs are rela-tively low — just a set of sneakers, backpack and perhaps a child-carrier of some sort; and the ac-tivities are safe for all ages.
“Parents today are seeking outdoor activities to share with their children to expose them to a wider world than the purely electronic one … a world that can engage them on a number of fronts — from boundless play space to an educa-tion in nature,” said Colin Butts, director of mar-keting for Chaco. “Local parks, camps, forests,
18 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 25, 2016
and monuments offer parents an inexpensive, but rich natural escape.”
Smaller Sizes With Top-Notch TechWhen it comes to gear specifically designed for young explorers, there’s a wealth of trickle-down technology coming into play. “Products are kid-specific, but they are being designed with the same high-performance style and quality of ma-terials that is demanded in adult gear,” said Juli-anne Ryan and Andi Manies, product managers for CamelBak. “Parents and kids do not want dumbed-down function or style.”
As a result, we’re seeing kids gear cut from the same cloth, sometimes literally, as the adult ver-sion. Pint-sized softgoods from Patagonia and White Sierra are infused with bamboo and Ten-cel. Redington’s miniature fly rods and Avex’s kid-sized water bottles come with the same fea-tures as standard models, but with grips fit for smaller hands. Deuter offers backpacks built
with adult-worthy lumbar support, but with a tightening system that allows the pack to grow with the child.
Of course this advanced technology comes with a higher price tag than more basic cotton or plastic Walmart versions. While budgets are tight, brands confidently report parents are will-ing to spend more to ensure a quality product for their kids.
“They’re realizing that if they put their chil-dren in the right performance gear, the child will be more comfortable and more willing to stay out longer, meaning mom and dad get to do more of what they love,” said Robert Thom-as, senior product line manager at Smartwool. “There’s a breaking point with regard to cost because kids do grow quickly, but by and large, parents are more willing to pay a little more to make sure their kids are comfortable outside.”
Crazy For ColorOne key difference between kids and adult gear, however, tends to be aesthetics. Playful, kid-oriented colors and graphics are key to help-ing pint-sized outdoorsmen and women take ownership of their gear. This summer, look for cartoonish animals and favorite super heroes, as well as tropical prints, fresh florals and stylized ethnic patterns.
“We know kids want their own gear, gear that doesn’t just look like their dad’s,” said Josh Prestin, Redington marketing manager fly fish-ing company, Redington. “Ultimately outdoor equipment built for kids should be about fun. If they don’t think something looks fun, they’re far less likely to engage with it.”
APRIL 25, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 19
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20 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 25, 2016
FAST FIVE
Help Your Customers Get Their Kids Outdoors Early And Often With Gear Built Just For Them.
By Courtney Holden
Smartwool Smart Loft Double Corbet 120 Jacket, $145, and Skirt“We are seeing parents embrace performance products for their kids despite the fact that kids are con-stantly outgrowing their apparel,” said Robert Thomas, senior prod-uct line manager at Smartwool. The SmartLoft Double Corbet 120 Jacket offers 120 grams of wool insulation and provides thermoregulation and warmth even when wet. Wind re-sistant polyester with DWR finish, rounds out the package.
Burley Solstice Jogging Stroller | $399Style and function blend harmoni-ously in the Solstice. An automatic locking mechanism allows the stroller to fold and lock in one mo-tion using one hand. And the pad-ded spring-integrated technology prevents tangled straps, simplifying the in and out process. Other fea-tures include coil-spring suspension system, locking front swivel wheel and telescoping padded handlebar that can be raised or lowered.
Osprey Poco AG Series | $250-$330Tote kids into the backcountry with-out feeling their weight. That’s the promise of the Poco AG Series from Osprey. Thanks to the brand’s proprie-tary Anti-Gravity Aluminum Suspen-sion — a full-wrap aluminum tubing frame that provides lightweight yet stable heavy load carry — parents can carry kids without extra strain. The ventilated Airspeed backpanel ups comfort level. Meanwhile, kids ride safely nestled in its fleece-lined butter-fly harness and padded cockpit.
Keen Encanto Rainboot 365 | $60This lightweight alternative to heavier rubber boots features a flexible outsole to boost comfort and a waterproof membrane for warmth. The boot’s bungee draw-string replaces laces, so kids can remove without help.
Avex Freestyle Water Bottle | $13 “If water bottles can withstand a 200-foot drop or being backed over by the family mini van, why shouldn’t they be leak-proof?” points out Holly Hansen, Avex’s marketing communications man-ager. The Avex Freestyle water bottle’s “spout shield” protects the drinking spout from the elements, germs and dirt.
APRIL 25, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 21
TRADE ASSOCIATIONS BUYING GROUPS
Athletic Dealers of America1395 Highland AvenueMelbourne, FL 32935t 321.254.0091athleticdealersofamerica.com
National Shooting Sports Founda-tionFlintlock Ridge Office Center11 Mile Hill RoadNewtown, CT 06470t 203.426.1320 nssf.org
National Sporting Goods Association1601 Feehanville Drive I Suite 300Mount Prospect, IL 60056t 847.296.6742nsga.org
Nation’s Best Sports4216 Hahn Blvd.Ft. Worth, TX 76117t 817.788.0034nbs.com
Outdoor Industry Association4909 Pearl East Circle I Suite 300Boulder, CO 80301t 303.444.3353outdoorindustry.org
Sports & Fitness Industry Associa-tion8505 Fenton Street I Suite 211Silver Spring, MD 20910t 301.495.6321sfia.org
Snow Sports Industries America8377-B Greensboro DriveMcLean, VA 22102t 703.556.9020snowsports.org
Snowsports Merchandising Corp.235 Cadwell DriveSpringfield, MA 01104t 413.739.7331Snowsportsmerchandising.com
Sports, Inc.333 2nd Avenue NorthLewistown, MT 59457t 406.538.3496sportsinc.com
Sports Specialists Ltd.590 Fishers Station Drive I Suite 110Victor, NY 14564t 585.742.1010sportsspecialistsltd.com
Tennis Industry Association1 Corpus Christi Place I Suite 117Hilton Head Island, SC 29928t 843.686.3036tennisindustry.org
Worldwide 8211 South 194thKent, WA 98032t 253.872.8746wdi-wdi.com
INDUSTRY CALENDAR
APRIL
1-2 SFIA Litigation & Risk Management Summit New Orleans, LA
12 SFIA/NFHS/NCAA Rules Conference Indianapolis, IN
19-21 Imprinted Sportswear Show (ISS), Nashville, TN
MAY
22-25 NSGA Management Conference and Team Hilton Head Island, SC
JUNE 9-10 The Running and Fitness Event For Women Chicago, IL
13-17 Grassroots Spring Summit & Connect Albuquerque, NM
23-25 Sports Inc. Athletic Show Minneapolis, MN
JULY
13-17 IDEA World Fitness Convention Los Angeles, CA
AUGUST
3-6 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Salt Lake City, UT
11-13 Sports Inc. Outdoor Show Minneapolis, MN
SEPTEMBER
21-23 Interbike Las Vegas, NV
25-28 NBS Fall Market Fort Worth, TX
OCTOBER
20-23 ADA Fall Buying Show Charlotte, NC
28-30 ADA Fall Buying Show Phoenix, AZ
NOVEMBER
7-11 Grassroots Fall Summit & Connect Knoxville, TN
17-19 Athletic Business Conference & Expo Orlando, FL
Photo courtesy Smartwool and photographer Rafalovich